Thirty days hath September...

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November.
All the rest have 31,
Except the second one alone,
Which has but 28 days
'til leap year makes it 29!


I never realized how many different versions of this little memory-poem there were until I searched for "Leap Day" tonight.... Here are just a very few of them---some of them making no sense at all! :


Version 88
Thirty days hath Septober,
April, June, and No Wonder,
All the rest have peanut butter,
Except my grandmother,
She has a little red tricycle.


Version 89

30 days hath September
April, June, and November
Excepting February
When comes the time
Every Leap Year gives it twenty-nine


Version 85
30 Days hath September,
April, June and November
All the rest have 31,
except February which has 28,
until Leap Year gives it 29

Version 86
30 days hast September,
April, June and November
All the rest have 31
Except February it has 28

Version 87
Thirty days hath September
April June and no wonder
all the rest have 31
except grandma
and she drives a Buick

Version 82
Thirty days hath September,
April, June and dull November
All the rest have 31
Excepting February 1 in 4
February then has one day more.

Version 83
Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November
All the rest have thirty-one
All except the second one
Which alone has twenty-nine
When comes Leap Year in it's time

Version 84
Thirty days has September
April, June, and November
All the rest have thirty-one
Not February, it's a different one
It has twenty-eight, that's fine
A Leap Year makes it twenty-nine



ANYWAY, happy Leap Day! :) What did you do with this "Extra" day? I worked at the nursing home for most of it. It took me a while getting home too, as I decided to try taking the gravel road home, but when I got about a mile down it, the wheel tracks I'd been following disappeared, and all I saw was snow (it snowed approx. 4 inches yesterday). SO, I decided to back up until I was at the farm yard I'd just passed, back into their driveway and turn around, taking the longer but safer way home! As I was nearly at Kintyre, Mother called me to make sure I was alright.... It's nice to be worried about sometimes. :)

It opened!

...and it smells so sweet! To be honest, I didn't keep very good track of which dwarf fruit tree was which when I transplanted them out of the greenhouse last Fall, so it will be a surprise fruit. :) Time will tell....

This afternoon/evening, I waxed my Colby cheese.

That's the funniest kind of painting I've ever done!

I sure wonder how the cheese will TASTE! Time will tell.....

As the Endorsing Convention was canceled due to a blizzard on its way, our company did not come and we spent the day working on taxes and paperwork.

I may have found the car I'd like to buy (on BisMan).... Andrew called the owner and spoke for the car, so it will either be mine (if I like it when I "Meet" it) or he will fix it up and resell it. Time will tell...

Our life is so exciting!

"Thank you Lord for interesting bends in our road each day!"

Blizzard warnings again are in the air...

I wonder if anything will come of them?

I drove to Linton this morning to get Carol's (from FSA) signature on my calf check, then from there, I drove to Napoleon and paid off my operating loan with the a big portion of the money. It feels good to be able to pay your bills, doesn't it? :)

I put gas in Mom's vehicle and bought stamps at the post office, then realized that things had gone so well (I'd allotted plenty of time for possible bad roads) that I had a couple hours to spare before I needed to be working at the nursing home, so I drove home (15 miles) for lunch with my family. They were in the middle of a project when I arrived! They were reupholstering the dining room chairs and the 2 kitchen stools. They look so nice now!!!

Well, I just arrived home a little while ago, showered, and am very much ready to go to sleep, so I shall again say "Good night". We're getting company tomorrow, so Mom and I'll be getting up early to spend some time in the kitchen....

A post on red, Ron Paul, and buttermilk pancakes...

Mother commented the other day that my brothers and I matched----and she had to get our picture. Here we are, all decked out in red and blue denim (we all had white socks on too, but sadly they don't show in the picture). :) Don't I just look tiny in-between those two giants?




The following pictures are ones that Andrew took with his new, high-quality camera.

I mentioned about a week ago how Mom and Andrew went to see and hear Ron Paul speak (they helped greet people too and passed out stickers and the like) at the Bismarck endorsing convention... Here are a few pictures for those who are interested:

Mr. Paul----one of my heroes! Don't you just love his country look? :)



This gentleman (posing with his wife) is another to whom I give my whole-hearted support:
His name is Mr. Paul Sorum and he is running to be Governor of our great state. As a side note, he and his wife home educate(d) their children! :) He is a man of integrity and believes in many of the same things Ron Paul does, (things like: God; adhering to the constitution of our country; and the like).

The smiling lady in the middle of this photo is also a Ron Paul supporter---aka: my mom!

The gentleman in the black hat in this picture is a huge Ron Paul supporter...

...as is this young man in the white hat. :) These are the two friends Andrew went with yesterday and who he may go with again out to the eastern part of the state later this week....

Mother, Andrew and I spent our afternoon calling people from District #28, seeking out Ron Paul supporters. Our endorsing convention is this Tuesday evening in Wishek and we're trying to find people to come along and vote for us to be delegates or to be delegates themselves.....

But, that's enough politic talk for the time being! :)

I'll leave you with the picture Andrew took of me this afternoon as I mixed up a double-batch of buttermilk pancakes (minus the buttermilk, as we're out. I just put a little vinegar in the milk and it turned out fine).

I had decided to try out one of the hairstyles on a website my friend, MaryAnna sent me a link to (for Prairie Days ideas)... What do you think?

And now, I will wish you all a good night!

The first real blizzard of the Winter!

There is a storm raging outside, even as I type. We were all very glad to hear that Andrew and the young men he went with (the head ND Ron Paul guys) decided to stay in Dickinson tonight to wait out the storm! They hope to be in Grand Forks tomorrow evening for another endorsing convention there. I'm not sure if Andrew will go along to that one or not? First, they'll have to see if the roads are even passable in the morning!

We spent a quite day at home. I'm so glad I do not need to work in town tomorrow, as there is talk of the storm continuing.............

We sang this hymn this morning and I thought it was a most fitting one for this day.



I praise the Lord for how He has kept us safe through the storms of life!

Taxing work...

Yes, the guys spent most of the afternoon mulling over numbers. It's that time of year again---time to pay the taxes.

Meanwhile, the rest of us cleaned the house; cooked up a big batch of chili---using a new recipe; I made a white cake (from scratch) to go with all the leftover frosting I had from the cake I decorated yesterday; and we worked on the seemingly never-ending laundry.

It was a good, busy day. This evening, Andrew received a call from Jared H. (head of the Ron Paul campaign here in ND), asking him if he'd be willing to ride along to Dickinson tomorrow to help with their district meeting. Andrew agreed to go, but we're not sure what the roads will be like, as "They" are talking snow for this weekend. I guess the Lord will make it clear in the morning whether or not Andrew should go or stay home! God knows best, after all...

A picture post!

I took the time to upload my pictures tonight and thought I'd share a few of them with you all...

Here is the boxful of cake divider-plates that my neighbor brought over and that I bought from her:

Brother Andrew, cleaning off the trailer he used to haul a few round hay bales home.

This is the big kettle (it holds 4 gallons) I ordered when I decided to experiment with making hard cheeses:

My not-so-fancy but very practical, use-what-you-have cheese-press: :)

....and the resulting 2 chunks of cheese: NOTE: I did not wish to add any artificial coloring to the cheese, so that is why my Colby cheese is cream colored! The cheese dries on these mats for several days, then it gets dipped in hot cheese-wax and put away in cold storage. It still needs to be flipped over every day for a while...

This last picture is of the cake I made per request of one of my coworkers. Her granddaughter, Kaitlyn, died last year on this day in a car accident (slippery roads). My coworker was having a special memory-birthday party for her this evening, so I took this cake to her at work this afternoon:

That's all for now.

I just want to say a huge "PRAISE THE LORD" for the wonderful price we got on the calves we sold today! This will help so much..................

Good night everyone.~

We're selling our calves---

----tomorrow in Napoleon. :) If you so desire, I think you can watch the sale by going HERE, clicking on the "Internet Auction" button, then scrolling down until you find Napoleon Livestock and pushing the button there. The calves will most likely be sold sometime in the middle of the afternoon or on into the evening. Sadly, I need to work in town, so will not be able to be at the sale, but the nice thing is that, every Thursday, several of the TVs are turned to the channel that shows the sale and so I might be able to see some of our calves sold if I happen to be in the right room at the right moment....

We sorted the calves this morning and loaded a couple loads before I left for work, then the others finished up this afternoon with loading and hauling. I hope it went well, although I don't know for sure, as everyone was in bed when I arrived home. I praise the Lord for granting us safety while working with those rather large animals!

Colby cheese~

I attempted to make Colby cheese for the first time today!!! :) Now we just need to wait 6 months to know if it turned out well or not! Has anyone who's reading this ever made hard cheeses before? How did they turn out for you? What did you use for a cheese-press? I'll share a picture with you of my "System" when I load my pictures someday soon.

I also cleaned out my aquarium thoroughly (even boiled some of the rocks that had black fuzzies growing on them and soaked my bridge and fake plants in very hot water). I also baked and crumb-coated a cake that I'll decorate Thursday morning and take to my coworker who asked me to make it.

Dad and Andrew were busy in the shop most of the day and also fixed some fence. Mom and Jacob worked on schoolwork and tax work; laundry and dishes. Jacob was out in the shop all morning too.

Please pray for safety for us all tomorrow morning/afternoon, as we'll be sorting some calves and loading/hauling them to the salesbarn to sell on Thursday! Thank you.~

'Twas a busy day!

I got up early and went babysitting at Helen's. Since she and her husband are supposed to return this evening, the children and I spent a good portion of the morning and afternoon making a "Welcome Home" banner for them----complete with lots of colors, scribbles, hand outlines, and stick people. :)

When I got home, Jacob and I made a double batch of cookies and cleaned the kitchen. Dad was hauling hay home again and visiting with our neighbor when he stopped in for quite a while. They talked politics, I hear. This gentleman/friend said he likes Ron Paul and what he stands for, "But he just won't win". Dad agreed, diplomatically of course, that, no, with that attitude, he won't win.... It's all simple logic: If we don't vote for the guy we really want, he won't win! We, the people, need to support the men we really want to be running this country and then they can stand a good sporting chance of winning--and WIN--of course, all with God's help and blessing!

Mom and Andrew went to Bismarck to hear Ron Paul speak this afternoon/evening. I had really wanted to go along with them, but it just didn't work this time. They just returned home about half an hour ago.

We spent part of the last couple hours chasing cows in, as the cow-feeder this evening had forgotten to close the gate behind him, and the cows took full advantage of the situation. Dad, Jacob and I thought we had them all in, but when Mom and Andrew drove in, they said there were still quite a few out by the back driveway. Thankfully, they went in pretty easily. Dad just went out now again, as he saw one more cow out. She must have been hiding in the trees?

That was our day! I'm so glad that tomorrow I get to stay home (unless God has other plans for my day, that is). :)

Short night...

I just returned home from working at the nursing home and need to get to bed right away, as I need to be out at Helen's Daycare one last day tomorrow---bright and early.


So, good night everybody!

Foosball fun!

It's been quite a long time since we've played Foosball, so we were a bit out of practice this afternoon when we headed down to the basement for at least an hour of fun! Dad, the boys and I played several games and were starting to get the hang of it again by the time we were nearly tired out. :) Then we went upstairs and played Rook with Mother, plus a bit of Rummy too.

We listened to a couple of Mr. Kevin Swanson's radio messages today and appreciated his thoughts. We also sang several hymns, which was much more pleasant this week than last, as this time I have my voice back---a useful instrument when it comes to singing. :)

My parents and Jacob did the evening chores tonight, so Andrew and I made our supper and looked through pictures he's taken with his new camera.

And that was our day----in a nut shell.

Oh, here's the new Prairie Day flier that a friend shared with me the other day. Can you find my family on the picture? How about George Washington?

A clean house...

.........What a lovely feeling it is to have one!

After most of the cleaning was done, and the feast was prepared (roast with potatoes; freshly made fruit salad with whipped cream; freshly squashed orange juice; and cheesecake for dessert), Mom and I did a little redecorating in the kitchen. :) What fun! I'll try to remember to take a picture of what we did.

Also, this afternoon, one of our neighbors came over with a boxful of cake divider plates that she'd bought recently at an auction. She offered them to me at such a good price that I bought all 21 of them. :)

Let me see... What else went on around here today? Well, Dad hauled a load of hay home. Andrew fixed Jacob's (I guess it's his now) I-pod. I watered all the plants and discovered a bud on one of my dwarf fruit trees! We got our reimbursement check in the mail for the box of old records we received in place of the Pacifica fix-it manuals Andrew had ordered. I attempted to make Sweetened Condensed Milk without dry milk powder, which didn't turn out quite right, so our cheesecake is a bit on the soupy side of things. Mother's been researching the health benefits of "Oil pulling" recently, so she and I did that today. Oh, and we also watched a video/story of two long-time, North Dakotan lovers which can be viewed HERE!

And, I think that's about all.

Oh yes, we did watch a new movie tonight---an old, black and white film from 1941 which we thought would be good, but as it was just dumb, I won't even bother to tell you any more about it!

Let me point you in another direction tonight...

If you'd like to learn about what went on in my familys' lives today, click HERE.


If you'd like to read more about the Litfin family and see a video of them singing at last years' home school convention, click HERE.


If you want to know what my newest project will be, click HERE.


If you'd like to know what my mom was tempted to buy me (just to be prepared) while thrift-shopping today, click HERE.


If you want to know what my dream car(#5 or #7) would look like, click HERE.

If you'd just like to get on with your day, click that little red "X" in the top right corner of this page. :)

Update on Litfin family...

You can click here for more info. on what happened to the Litfin young people...

Thank you for praying for their family! Two of the children have come home from the hospital now, but the other two are still there.

My van now has a new home...

The man from Driscoll came and picked it up tonight (and paid for it too). I was so glad Andrew had taken the time to clean everything out of it for me while I was away for most of the day at the Daycare. Speaking of which, I just have one more day there (on Monday) before Helen returns. I think this was the best day so far, as everyone got along with everyone else pretty well and most everybody took naps when they were supposed to.... :) 4 days down, 1 more to go.

This day started out on an extremely sad note when I read about a friend of mines' siblings being in a car accident yesterday----4 of them being in the hospital, and 1 more sister died as a result of injuries!! I can not imagine what they're going through right now. Please pray for the L. family from ND. They're also planning a wedding for their oldest (my friend) for March 3rd. What a difficult time this must be for them............ I just can't imagine.........................

Little hands...

...worked hard on Valentine projects today. :)

My bigger hands had plenty to do as well! One of my little joy bundles had her 2nd birthday today and was overjoyed when a relative showed up with a balloon nearly as large as her. :)

Oh, Mom and Andrew just returned from Bismarck. I think I'll post this and go greet them before getting some rest before another busy day of instructing children in the ways that are right and good...

Day #2 down, 3 more to go...

I spent 10 hours at Helen's Daycare today---in total charge of everything. There were 10 small children there for most of the time and 4 more after school got out. Things went pretty well (just one child fell down, and one had an accident in her clothes) and almost everyone took a nap this time. :) Tomorrow will be another busy day there, I'm sure!

My dad is up cleaning grain in Harvey for 2 days. He decided to get a hotel room tonight so he does not need to spend 2 hours on the road one-way. He hopes to get done tomorrow evening.

Well, I wish you all a good night---and a happy lovers' day tomorrow. :)

I'm so thankful for my brother tonight!

I'm actually thankful for both my brothers, but tonight I'm especially glad to have Andrew in my family, as he posted my van on BisManOnline this morning and tonight it got sold! He was on the phone with the gentleman who wants it when I arrived home from working half a shift at the nursing home (Mom let me drive her car) a couple hours ago. This man owns an '01 Town & Country van also that the tranny just went out on, so he wants to buy my van and replace his tranny with mine---plus then he'll have extra parts for his van in case something goes wrong. He was especially excited about the heated seats! :) He didn't even try to get Andrew to back off on his asking price of $750.00, so I'll now have that money to stick into whatever other vehicle I find to drive. PTL!

I need to go to Helen's early in the morning again tomorrow, and this time I think I'll leave extra early so I can drive slower and be able to watch more diligently for deer!

Thank you for your prayers on my behalf! I have half my voice back today. :)

Company!

We had two families come to our place today---the S. family was here for lunch and then the other S. family (our neighbors) came over later to listen to Mr. S. (the first family mentioned) give a presentation about the John Birch Society (which we highly recommend for all American citizens, by the way!). I believe everyone had a nice time----although I was so frustrated with not being able to talk! I've always thought of myself as a very quite person, but realized, once I'm not able to talk, how much I actually do want to say, even if it's just a few words here and a few words there. :) Please continue to pray for me, as I need to work at the nursing home tomorrow and it would be handy to be able to talk to the residents and my coworkers!!! Then for the next 3 days after that, I'll be at Helen's Daycare and could also use my voice there, being in charge of a number of little children..... Thank you ever so much!

As I said though, we did have a nice time with our full house (16 people in all), and I KNOW everyone enjoyed the dessert that was shared after the meeting!

My poor van~

A bit of a Jonah day...

...You know the kind---when things just seem to go wrong right from the break of dawn---or even before it, as it was in my case...

Here is my sad tale:

I was driving my van along in the dark (going the speed limit) and was about a mile West of Napoleon when a deer suddenly ran across the road a little ways ahead of me. I slammed on the breaks, knowing that, where there's one deer, there's often two, but the second deer was too quick and ended up running right immediately in front of me! I smacked into it very hard (right in the front on the passenger side) and literally saw the deer sail up into the air 10+ feet, doing somersaults as it went. (My dad and brother looked for it later and couldn't see it, so they think it is still alive?) I stopped right away and pulled over, getting out to see what damage had been done. When I saw the huge mess and smelled something hot, I knew I'd better turn the motor off and call for help.

I called my dad (it was about 7:10AM at this time) and asked his advice and if he could look up Helen's phone # so I could call her and let her know what happened and to see if she or her husband could pick me up, as they needed to get going for appointments in Bismarck and I was supposed to be there at 7:15... To make a long story short, I called #911 to report what had happened, the Sheriff came out and took down the information (I think that's the first time I've ever been inside a police vehicle, but he asked me in because it was SO cold out); Helen's husband came and picked me up and they left as soon as we got to their place; then Dad and Andrew brought me Andrew's car to drive home and towed my van home.

The verdict on my van? My dad said he'd advise me to try and sell it for parts or scrap and buy something else, as it's going to cost a lot to repair and it already has 203,000+ miles on it...

The part to be glad about? That I was not hurt at all, outside of having a very high pulse rate there for a few minutes! Also, as the guys pointed out, I can be glad the air-bags did not get set off, as that could have hurt and it also would make the vehicle very much unsellable. One more thing to be thankful for is that this happened while Helen and her husband were not gone on vacation yet so that one of them could come pick me up. It still was sad though. We've had some great family times in that van (I think we've had it 8 years)!

I have been battling a cold for a couple days and today I started loosing my voice along with it. Jacob says I sound like he did while his voice was changing. :) It's frustrating to want to say something, but also to not want to say it, as your voice sounds so silly.

Outside of those sad details, my day went fairly smoothly with the 10 small (4 and under) children I cared for all day. Shortly after I got home, Mom took off with the car Andrew let me use, as Andrew had someone very interested in buying it and needed it delivered to Bismarck. He and Dad had gone to Minot (I'll let him tell you what for later), so then Mom rode home with them, after Andrew's car was sold!

Andrew commented that, within 3 days time, we've gone down 4 drivable vehicles (3 were sold and 1 was demolished). It's a good thing that Andrew brought home a----oh, I said I wasn't going to tell you!

Prayers would be appreciated, as I try to get well in a super big hurry and as I now need to decide on what vehicle to buy? Life can take so many unexpected turns sometimes!

I've got to get to bed...

...as I've got to get up in the morning early to go babysit at Helen's. I just got home from working at the nursing home a bit ago.

I hear it was a pretty busy day here at home, with Andrew fixing a computer for a guy from Bismarck (he'd been here once before and this time he brought us some Halvah!); Jacob worked on fixing a tire; Dad hauled grain; Mom worked around the house and Andrew sold one of his cars!

Talk more tomorrow evening...

Learning the rest of the ropes...

This morning, I went to Helen's house (Daycare) so we could go over some menus and so she could show me where absolutely everything I might ever need was at. :) The reason? She and her husband will be leaving on vacation soon and I will be in charge of her daycare for a few days... If she did forget to show me where something is (and I forgot to ask), then I'm pretty sure the children can help me find it, as they know the ins and outs of the place (and all the rules) better than I do. :)

I got a phone call while at Helen's from one of my coworkers at the nursing home who was wondering if I could come in a couple hours early and take over for her, as she had an appointment to keep, so I agreed to do that as I was going to be going there to work the rest of the day anyway. It ended up being a rather long day.

When I got home just a bit ago, I rolled up the garden-hose that was in the milk cows' tank yet and took it in the house, locking the door behind me. All was still in the house. I figured everyone was in bed already. I had just taken my shoes and coat off when I heard the dogs bark and then, a little later, the entryway door opened up. I turned the light on out there and peeked out the door into the entry---and there---was my dad, coming up the stairs! I let him in. :)

Apparently, they had posted an ad on Bis-Man to try and sell our old car (one that we've had for almost as long as I can remember). Within 3 hours time, they had a call from a man in Bismarck who wanted to buy it. His car broke down this morning (for the last time, I think) and he said he'd willingly pay the full price my dad was asking (in cash) if he'd deliver it to Bismarck. SOOOOO, at 8:00 this evening, he and Andrew took off with the old car and Andrews' car. After making the delivery, while filling gas in Bismarck, they ran into (not literally) some friends from Edgeley, so that was neat.

And that, my dear friends, was our day. ~

We went to Bis(y)marck!

Our morning started early, with my parents and I getting things together to go to Bismarck. Our first stop was in Dawson, as we needed to pick up our Azure order at 8:45AM. We saw a friend from SD there and Mom asked her to hop in our vehicle and visit while we waited for the truck (which ended up only being about a 5 minute wait).

After getting our healthy food and cleaning products loaded, we headed for the city (about an hours' drive from our farm). Mother had a pretty full days worth of sessions to do, so we dropped her off at her little office first thing.

Then, Dad and I drove here and there, getting paperwork together for taxes; renewing the semi license; mailing the cream separator we sold to a man in Canada; looking for machine parts; and then going to the dentist, as Dad had an appointment there. I knew it was going to take a while, so I sat out in the Pacifica (in the bright sunshine, with a warm quilt on my lap) and wrote 2 letters. Once my letters were completed, I started looking through the Azure Standard sales catalog and was busily reading there when someone knocked on my window! I looked up, a bit startled as my dad would have gone to the other door and knocked if I'd not noticed him, and here, it was one of my coworkers from Napoleon!!! :) We visited for a few minutes until Dad was done and came out. What a surprise!

Dad put some gas in the vehicle, then we noticed a Goodwill store that we'd never been in before, so (as we needed to "Kill" some time anyway) we stopped there and looked around. Can you believe that we didn't buy a thing there??? :)

At 2:00, we went and picked Mother up, as she had a couple-hour lull in her sessions and we all headed over to the ND Ron Paul headquarters to see if there was anything we could do to help there. We'd never been there before (the boys had, but not the rest of us) so Jared and Trevor gave us a quick tour. We visited for most of the time we were there, as they didn't have their newest calling lists in yet, although Mother did call 2 numbers and found 1 willing delegate in the process. :)

After taking Mom back to her office, Dad and I spent the rest of the afternoon driving around town, putting up posters for the next (John Birch Society) informational constitution meeting to be held next Tuesday evening at the public library. We put the posters up in both malls; a couple gas stations; the library; and a few grocery stores. While searching for the bulletin board in one grocery store, a couple walked up behind us and the woman said, "Hi Cora". Turning around, here I saw ANOTHER of my coworkers (another Napoleonite)!! What are the chances of that? I guess God just wanted to give us all a smile. :)

We went to Mom's office one last time at 6:00 and picked her up, then took her to a friend who does massage. While Mom got her relaxing treat, Dad and I headed for Menards to look at what kinds of clear materials they have for putting on the top of greenhouses (something sturdier than thick, flexible plastic like we used last year). We found some plexi-material that would work really well, but it is quite expensive, so we're not sure if we want to go that way or not? Hmmmmm.......

The boys, meanwhile, were at home, doing chores and fixing cars (and Jacob did some schoolwork too, so I hear). They're such a blessing.

I guess I really didn't do much while in Bismarck, other than keeping my dad company, but it was nice to get away for a change. I still like the farm scenery better than the city though! :)

"My" child....

Let me tell you a bit about him:


...and here's Dinesh's picture:

I have prayed about sponsoring a child for some time and it is now finally official! :) My family (my parents, really) sponsored a little girl many years ago through Compassion International. Her name was Tabita and we wrote her letters and heard from her for about 10 years time. We were blessed by her prayers and it was such a wonderful feeling to know that, because of our help, a little girl in Indonesia was receiving an education; a good meal every day; clothing; medical care if needed; and most importantly, she was being taught about the Lord and we rejoiced when she talked about her love of Him! We still pray for her when she comes to mind.

I am now very much looking forward to getting to know this young lad in India through the years and praying for him as he grows in the Lord. I plan to write my first letter to him tomorrow. :)

We have sent most of our tithe money to Gospel For Asia for years, and really believe in the work they're doing there. "Bridge Of Hope" is a division of Gospel For Asia, bringing needy children together with sponsors who want to help them... I look forward to the years ahead, knowing that I'm helping a little boy in Chhattisgarh to grow big and strong. Who knows, he may one day be a missionary and we can help support him together? :)


I baked bread today and made mozzarella cheese...
Mother had 2 clients come out this morning and, as their sessions were pretty lengthy, we invited them to join us for lunch too, which they did happily. :)

This next picture is for all the farmers out there: How would you like to have this seat to sit on as you go about your chores?

(Thankfully, it is a lot more drivable now that Dad fixed it!)

Here are our two sleepy heads in their favorite spot in the whole wide world at this time of year----right behind the wood stove in the shop!

Brother Andrew, searching for the perfect diagram...

This is Andrew's most recent project:

Mother likes this car so much, she's talking about buying it from him for summer driving...... :)

Andrew replaced the wiring-harness (I think that's what it was called?) on this car for a customer/friend recently:

OH, and here's one last picture that I found on my camera when I uploaded my pictures:

This is the collage I put together from last years' events.... Enjoy~

PS. Does anyone recognize the man Andrew's standing by in the far left, middle photo?

Let's try this again...

I was just sitting down to start typing on my on-line journal here when I remembered that I was going to start a large batch of bread "Soaking" before heading for bed tonight---using Sarah K's recipe this time....

So, after digging out the measuring cups and spoons and a large bowl and spoon, it is now "Soaking" and I have about a pints worth of energy left to write with this evening! :)

I just returned from a rather busy day/evening at the nursing home. This morning was busy as well, with doing chores; some laundry; dishes; and working on some mending projects (mainly sewing up slits on skirts and repairing a zipper). I'm sure my family was busy today as well, as they always are. I don't think that they watched even an ounce of football either, as that really isn't their thing...

Yes, it was a good day, with sunshine by the quarts!

Here's hoping your day tomorrow is filled with joy--by the gallons.~

Above Rubies...

A dear friend at Family Camp asked me if I'd ever heard of/read "Above Rubies". When I replied in the negative, she said she highly recommended it to all women/young ladies. She had even gone and stayed a couple months to help with everything that needs doing in order to publish a magazine!

So, a few days back, I subscribed (I was very surprised to learn that there was no charge) and also ordered all the back issues that are still in print. I was very glad to see that the back-issues had arrived in the mail today, as I actually had some time for reading this afternoon. :) From what I've read and seen so far, I also would highly recommend this magazine to others! You can find out more at ABOVE RUBIES. I especially love all the pictures of families and reading about what the Lord has done in their lives....

It was indeed a peaceful day at home. We listened to one of Mr. Kevin Swansons' messages and sang several songs for our worship service today. In the later part of the afternoon, (after Mother napped, the guys did various things, and I played piano) all of us--except for Jacob--watched "Pamela's Prayer", which I had also ordered from the Above Rubies website. The movie's main message was very good, but we wondered at a couple of the scenes which didn't quite seem to fit with the moral of the story? Has anyone else ever watched this movie? If so, what did you think of it?

The grain cleaners are home!

After one more full, dusty day, the guys returned this evening triumphant. :) Next job on the list: Reassemble grain cleaners!

Mother and I had a very productive day at home, cooking and cleaning. We actually did more intensive cleaning than usual and got some messy areas put into a more orderly array of, well, things. We even had a few minutes to play duets on the piano while waiting for Dad to feed the cows! I had done the other chores earlier while Mom finished washing up the kettles and pans we'd used in our cooking/baking, but I don't feel comfortable feeding bales to the cows ( and Mom didn't want to either), so Dad hopped in the tractor right away when they got home at 7:30.

We are very much ready for a peaceful day spent here at home before another busy week gets here. May your weekend be blessed.~

PS. Oh, I was going to share this with you all too.... :)

Now wouldn't THAT be nice???

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood...

This truly has been the loveliest Winter I've ever seen!!! Dad commented at lunch today that it's the nicest one he ever remembers! What a blessing. It truly feels like Spring!

It was a busy morning here, with Mom and I putting together our Azure order (we try to only place one every other month, so have to make sure we get enough supplies to last us that long) and getting bank deposits written out, then helping Mother pack up her equipment so she could head to Bismarck. Once she was on her way, I placed our order; prepared lunch; got my clothes pressed for work; and then I was going to take a shower, but alas, there was no water, so I didn't... You see, all Winter long, we run a garden-hose from the water hydrant into the cows' water tank for most of the day. While that's running, our water supply in the house is about half-strength---just enough to run the washing machine, but not enough to run the dishwasher. When we wean the calves however, and they go to drink from their water fountain (and the hose is running in the other tank) we have a very small amount of water in the house---just a trickle, really. It makes life interesting and makes us appreciate running (pressurized) water all the more when we do have it! :) Pretty soon we'll be selling the calves, so then will have fewer water complications.

The fellas worked around the farm today, unloading the grain cleaner they brought home (it was in several pieces) and I'm not sure what else they did, but I'm sure they were busy. I worked in town at NCC (Napoleon Care Center).

Once again, it was a good day!

Peaceful times...

This morning was just lovely (outside and in) and peaceful. Everything just felt right...

I worked at the care center (nursing home) all afternoon/evening and all went well there too. I don't think I've ever shared a picture of NCC? Well, here is one I found on their website--showing the main entrance: They have really beautiful flowers all around in the Spring!

I praise the Lord for normal, regular, peaceful days!

Mom was busy today at home. Our guys probably didn't think this day was so lovely, as they spent the whole day in a dirty, dusty elevator, taking apart that other grain cleaner, but my day was----nice. :)